


A Little Surprise?

by agentsoffitzsimmons, mswinterhawk (agentsoffitzsimmons)



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Red Room, daddy Bucky and daddy clint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 21:11:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5105891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentsoffitzsimmons/pseuds/agentsoffitzsimmons, https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentsoffitzsimmons/pseuds/mswinterhawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint goes on a mission that he claimed would be quick. Turns out, it is not. He returns a few months later with something in his arms. Something that could change both Bucky and Clint's lives forever... if they can handle it that is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just a short mission

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that just kinda came to me one night and has been begging me to write it. I love the thought of these two with a kid. My poor little shipper heart finally relented and wrote this! As usual, I don't have a beta so all mistakes are mine. Enjoy!

Beep, beep.

“No…”

Beep, beep.

“I said no.” 

Beep, beep!

“Okay, I’m up!” 

Clint sat up slowly in his bed, turning on the nearby light. He quickly touched his phone to silence the damn alarm. He just wanted five more minutes of sleep, is that too much to ask for? He squinted to glance at his phone. In bright white numbers read 4:35 am.

Wait, that wasn’t when his alarm went off. 

Now very confused, he pulled his phone closer to him to take a closer look. It wasn’t his alarm but rather a mission call. He groaned, leaning his head against the headboard of his bed. He was supposed to be on ‘vacation’. He wasn’t supposed to be called in anytime soon! Clint quickly pulled up the message, reading over it lazily.

Moscow.  
Red Room activity.  
Hawkeye to report in  
At 0600 hours.

Well, that got his attention. He sat up a little straighter, reading over the message again. Red Room activity? Okay, they gave him a very good reason to come in that day. 

A figure next to him moved slightly as Clint adjusted again. The arm that had been around his waist tightened its grip on him. A smile spread across the archer’s lips. “Hey, wake up…” He muttered, bending down to kiss the other’s forehead. 

Only a groan in response.

“Buck, wake up. I was called in.” He said with a whine.

That woke him up. Bucky slowly sat up, his real arm still around Clint. “No. You are supposed to be on break, remember? Come on Clint, you can’t go in.” He murmured, his voice thick with sleep. He hadn’t even opened his eyes yet and he was already arguing with him. The archer reached over and pushed a piece of the other’s long brown hair, which must have fallen out of his bun while they slept, behind his ear. 

“I have to. Red Room activity, Buck. I can go put a stop to them.” That made Bucky sit straight up. “No. No way. I am not letting you near them, Barton.” He used his last name. That was never good. “I’m sorry Bucky, but I have to go in. I told you before; the Red Room doesn’t scare me. They can’t hurt me. I got you out, didn’t I? I got Natasha out too, right? I can deal with these assholes.” Bucky let out a soft laugh, pulling Clint close. “I’m just worried.” The soldier muttered, placing soft and gentle kisses along any part of the other’s skin he could reach.

Moments like this made it hard for Clint to believe that he had once been the Winter Soldier; a man made soldier who had no emotions and would do anything and everything for Hydra. Moments like these made Clint see James Barnes, not the Winter Soldier and he loved it. At some points, the Winter Soldier would slowly start creeping up and Clint would have to do his best to keep him at bay. He needed to get revenge for what the people did to Bucky. That included the Red Room and Hydra.

First on his list was the Red Room.

“I just don’t want them to hurt you, Clint. I… You mean so much to me and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if they took you away from me.” The archer shook his head, placing kisses along Bucky’s cheeks and forehead. “They won’t. I promise I will come home to you. I will send you constant texts and call you any chance I get, okay?”

The brunet let out a sigh. He was right. He had to go on this mission. “As long as you promise to call me when you can. I want to make sure you are okay.” A smile appeared on the archer’s lips as he nodded. “You know I would anyways. I need to hear your voice.”

God they were such saps. How the hell were they both master assassins?

Clint climbed out of Bucky’s grip and went to take a shower. He had about… an hour before he was supposed to be at base. It was too damn early to function so a shower would probably take him awhile.

“You know, I am pretty sure this shower would go faster if you joined me.” Clint purred from his bathroom doorway. He had never seen the soldier move so fast out of the field.


	2. Surprise?

Bucky didn’t hear from Clint for another month and a half. To say it was torture was nowhere close to actually describing how he felt. He was constantly waiting by the phone and his computer, just waiting for something- anything from Clint.

Nothing.

It wasn’t until a month and a half had gone by that he finally got something from him. It was a quick text, he could tell. It was something and that was all he cared about. Bucky kept going over it, trying to figure out what exactly it meant.

Gone.  
Coming home.  
Plus one.

He figured that the Red Room was gone. Not like that was possible, though. It was probably just the one location he had managed to find. Coming home was self explanatory but… plus one? He just hoped it wasn’t another person he was trying to take out. Fury would kill him if Clint brought home another Natasha. Granted, Natasha had been one of the best agents SHIELD had ever seen. Clint had done a good thing to bring her back with him.

Bucky just worried who he was bringing home now. The soldier sent off a quick message back, saying how he hoped he had a good trip home and was quite curious to see who this plus one would be.

After that message, he didn’t get anything else from Clint. No more texts, telling him where he was. No message saying when he landed or when he would be landing. Bucky just had to assume that he would be home later that night and go on as he normally would. Eat breakfast, take a shower, jog, take a nap probably as Clint had been rubbing off on him, make lunch, check his phone, probably watch a TV show… God, his life was boring without his lover.

Bucky had managed to fall asleep on the couch after lunch and was woken up to the doorknob shaking, as if someone was desperately trying to get in. Acting on instinct, Bucky grabbed the gun that they kept under the coffee table and aimed it towards the door. The shaking stopped as he stepped closer.

“Buck? Bucky please. Open the door… I only have one hand.” 

Clint? James immediately put the gun down and ran to the door, unlocking it and opening it for the other. He froze. Clint really did have only one hand available.

In his arms was a bundle of blankets. That was the first thing that Bucky noticed. The second thing he noticed was just how badly Clint was hurt. It looked like he was leaning towards one side more, probably a bruised rib. His face and arms were littered with scratches and gashes. He looked horrible.

The blankets moved. “Clint, what the hell?” He asked, glaring at the mass in his arms. It moved again.

“Don’t be mad. Please.” The archer squeezed past Bucky and towards their bedroom. That was never a good sign. “Okay, why would I be mad at you?” He asked, turning to face the direction Clint had just walked in. He shut the door before making his way towards their bedroom as well.

The sight that greeted him was… shocking to say the least. Clint had set the blanket mess down on their bed and now he understood why they were moving. 

On their bed was now a baby. It looked like it was probably about a year old, if Bucky had to guess. Clint was leaning over it, checking over the thing constantly. “Clint, care to explain?” 

Only once the archer had deemed the little thing fine did he look up at Bucky. “I couldn’t leave her there. They would have put her in the system, Buck.” He looked heartbroken. Clint always had a soft spot for strays. 

“Clint, what are we going to do with her? SHIELD is going to take her and put her through the system just as Russia would have.” That’s when Clint got a nervous looking smile over his lips. 

Oh god.

“What did you do?” Clint bit his bottom lip before responding. “I may not have told SHIELD I had her? I might have totally bypassed debriefing and medical to come here to drop her off.” The brunet groaned. That means he totally meant to leave this child here with him while he went back for debrief.

Now, normally Bucky wouldn’t have a problem with this but the look that Clint had in his eyes made it seem like she was going to become a permanent fixture here in their apartment. He had never thought about kids before. Even before his fall, he wasn’t sure he wanted kids. 

He barely trusted himself with Clint most days. What made his lover think it was a good idea to add an innocent child to their fucked up relationship? 

“Clint, you know we can’t keep her. You and I both have our own forms of PTSD. She shouldn’t have a dad that deals with that and has a boyfriend who has an even worse form of that. Come on, you know SHIELD is going to find her anyways.”

The archer sighed and looked down at the little girl who was staring at Clint. 

Bucky swore he saw that fucker’s eyes start to water.

“Oh, don’t tell me you grew attached to her, Clint.” The man in question only shrugged. Dammit.

Bucky walked up to Clint and glanced down at the little girl. Okay, he had to admit she was kinda cute. She had thin, brown hair with little curls at the tips. Her bright blue eyes had an uncanny resemblance to Clint’s, it was almost scary. As Bucky examined her, a small giggle escaped her lips.

She was smiling up at him, her hands were clasped together as she giggled at the man. Bucky couldn’t keep the small smile off of his own lips.

“See, I knew you had a heart Barnes.” Clint said with a small wince.

“You and strays, I swear to god.” The brunet put his head in his hands before looking back down at the small girl. “Pick her up and I promise you won’t complain. You will melt, just like I did.” He knew he was going to melt, just like Clint had said but that didn’t stop him from reaching down and carefully scooping her up.

At first, he was a little worried as his metal arm would be right against her body. That arm had caused nothing but destruction and death for the past 70 years. This was all new. Yes, he had held Clint with that arm while they were doing inappropriate and kid friendly stuff, but holding a baby? Yeah, this was dangerous territory for him.

Just as Clint had promised, he melted. The girl snuggled right up to his chest, a hand gripping his shirt tightly. “Dammit, Barton.” The blond just smirked, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Just watch her for a few? I will be home soon.” 

And with that, the archer was gone. Bucky was left holding the little girl in his arms. “Wait, what’s her name?” He yelled after Clint. He was long gone, however. “Alright, we have to call you something different, huh? You came from Russia so something Russian would suit you best.” He mumbled as he walked out to the living room. 

“Eva? No… Nina? Nah.” He sighed, looking down at the baby in his arms. Why was this so hard?

“Sofia? I like that one.” The girl giggled and pulled his shirt into her mouth. “Alright, you like that one too. Point for me…”

Sofia continued to suck on his shirt and only then did he realize she must be hungry. Clint had left no baby supplies whatsoever. No food, no diapers, no clothes! This called for desperate measures. “How about we go shopping, little one? Clint will be awhile with all of those injuries.” He sighed and stood, adjusting her in his arms. “Yeah, I can go shopping right? I can get the things you need.”

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to shorten this chapter just a little bit but it all just kinda flowed together so enjoy the super long chapter 2! Work and school have definitely taken up all of my time lately but I am getting a small break soon so I will work on chapter 3 as much as I can! Please leave reviews! They keep me motivated to keep writing! <3


	3. Recruiting

Bucky managed to get Sofia all wrapped up and comfy before leaving the apartment. It was freezing outside. Sofia wasn’t wearing anything except a thin diaper that Clint had managed to find. Going outside in that would sure make her sick and there was no way he was letting her get sick while she was in his care. Clint would kill him.

Once they were both bundled up, Bucky grabbed his wallet and keys and left the apartment, making sure everything was locked up. He knew that Clint wouldn’t be back anytime soon so he didn’t bother with a note. He had his phone on him just in case something happened.

Sofia curled up closer to Bucky as soon as they walked into the streets. It was freezing! Looking up at the sky, he knew it would probably snow sometime soon. Great. Bucky let out a sigh, watching as his breath turned to fog. “Too damn cold to be outside…” and that was saying something coming from Bucky.

The little girl in his arms whimpered, gripping onto Bucky’s jacket.

“Right. Store. Come on Sofia.”

That is where he needed to go… right? He didn’t know. Bucky wasn’t cut out for this whole ‘dad’ thing. The soldier let out another sigh before turning in the direction of the grocery store. 

On second thought, maybe he should go to somebody that could help him; somebody who knew about babies and knew how the hell he was supposed to take care of this one. Of course, he didn’t know anyone who knew about children but he knew someone who would help. 

Bucky wrapped his arms a little tighter around Sofia and turned to the other direction.

People were staring at him now, great. He let out a groan before starting to walk in the direction he was facing. He knew someone who might, just might, be able to help him. James walked down the sidewalk, ignoring every car that passed by. He kept his eyes on the sidewalk, occasionally glancing down at the bundle of blankets in his arms. He was just making sure she was still alive, not concerned if she was too cold or anything, nope.

Eventually he got to his destination. An older looking apartment building that he could honestly admit he hadn’t been to that often. Taking another glance down at Sofia, he started heading up the stairs to the third floor. She was starting to get fussy and he had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do.

Bucky walked up to the door, a little hesitant. She was not going to react well. He raised his left hand and knocked gently on the door. “C’mon, be home please.” He heard movement inside. Good, she was there.

“Clint, I told you already that I am not going to cover your ass while you figure out what to do with the- Bucky?”

James smiled a little, nodding towards the woman.

“Natalia. Um… I guess Clint didn’t tell you either what this was, huh?” The red head gave Bucky a once over. Her eyes eventually landed on the squirming bundle in his arm. “Дерьмо.” She muttered before opening her door so he could sneak in.

“Is he stupid? Does he want us all dead?” She hissed as she dragged the two into her apartment. She lead them to her living room before breezing past Bucky to her bedroom. 

“I hate him sometimes. I swear, what the hell was he thinking bringing this home? His goal was to get rid of Ivan, not to bring home a stray.” The brunet glanced up at where Natasha had disappeared. She was technically a stray, wasn’t she?

She appeared again before he could say anything. “Set it down on the table. I need to check it over. I know Clint didn’t do it.” Bucky stood still, his arms still wrapped protectively around the little girl. 

“Nat, she is fine, I just need to know what the hell to do with her. What do I feed her? When do I feed her? How do I keep her entertained until Clint gets back?”

Natasha cursed again, setting down whatever she had grabbed from the bedroom. It looked like a first aid kit. “You grew attached already, haven’t you?” 

He scoffed. “No way. But… Clint has gotten attached. She is important somehow. You should have seen the look in his face when I said we couldn’t keep her.” 

That caused a small smile to briefly grace the red head’s lips. “You two are such saps… and idiots. Have I mentioned how much of an idiot you both are?”

Bucky nodded. “It might have come up a time or two. Talia, just help me. I think she is getting hungry.” The brunet frowned, looking down at the child in his arms who was still squirming and whimpering.

Natasha let out a sigh. “Make sure she doesn’t cry. I will go call a taxi and we will go to the store.” Bucky nodded and did as he was told.

He sat down on the couch while she was getting ready. Now how was he supposed to stop her from crying? Sofia’s bottom lip was sticking out and there were tears welling up in her eyes. Damn, she was going to start crying. He didn’t want that at all.

He reached down with his metal hand, gently rubbing the side of her face. She froze as the metal met her skin. At first he thought she didn’t like the metal on her skin. It probably freaked her out. 

Bucky didn’t expect her to reach out and grab onto his finger, gently pulling it into her mouth. Now it was his turn to freeze, watching her as she started chewing on his finger.

Well she wasn’t crying.

Natasha returned a couple minutes later, all dressed and make up done. “Alright, let’s go.” There was a smirk on her lips. “Cute. Wrap up the baby and meet me downstairs.”

Bucky nodded and quickly wrapped Sofia up before hurrying down the stairs. Sofia still had Bucky’s metal finger in her mouth.

The soldier looked down at her, checking her over to make sure she was ready to go outside. The little girl giggled around his finger, her little hands reaching up and grabbing it to make sure it stayed put. He just shook his head, a smile on his lips and followed Natasha out of the apartment building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Sorry about that, guys. I was working so often and then got stuck in a massive writers block. Did manage to get my WinterHawk fic exchange done on time and will upload that later but you all wanted more of this so here we go! 
> 
> As usual, please leave kudos and leave a review! The comments always help me stay motivated.


	4. Shopping Trip

Never in a million years did either of them think they would be in this situation anytime soon. Going shopping together for baby items? Yeah, not on their radar.

The only explanation either gave was Clint. They could both blame it on the archer.

Bucky had composed a small list while in the cab of what exactly a baby would need. Baby food, formula just in case, a pacifier, diapers, maybe some clothes? Okay, so the list wasn’t that small. It was rather extensive and Bucky hoped they were going to be able to get everything in one trip.

Natasha had agreed to come with him, if only to gather everything he would need while he kept Sofia entertained. She wasn’t going to admit she was sort of growing attached too. Never.

Bucky held the girl to his chest, bouncing slightly as they walked down the aisles. They were both getting some very weird looks. Sofia was simply enjoying the view. She wanted to reach out and grab everything she could see which caused problems very quickly. 

It was difficult to watch her and try to figure out what she would need with Nat. There were so many different brands on things and they all promised different things. Formula that would promote healthy growing and then another formula which wouldn’t upset the baby’s stomach. Neither knew what to choose.

While they were looking over the formulas, Sofia had reached out and grabbed a woman by the shirt. The poor old lady let out a gasp which caused both assassins to turn towards her.

That was when Bucky noticed the giggling girl in his arms with her hand still on the woman’s shirt.

“Sofia! No. Oh gosh, I am so sorry. I am new to all of this.” He put himself between Sofia and the old lady. The woman didn’t say anything, just tsked and walked down the aisle. Natasha rolled her eyes and went back to looking for the better formula. 

“Alright, I will finish getting this shit. You go buy that baby harness that way you can actually help me. We don’t need her distracting us.” Natasha said as she pointed to a box across the aisle. “Go. Meet me back here in ten, okay?”

Bucky knew better than to go against her so he did as he was told and went to go pay for the harness. Luckily, it was a short walk from the baby aisle to the cash register so Sofia couldn’t get into much trouble. There was also a short line in the express lane. Score.

James set the box down on the desk and reached around with his free hand to grab his wallet. The cashier rang it up and told him his total before starting to coo over Sofia. She was waving, making funny face, and making funny noises. The soldier had to hold in a laugh. 

She had asked how old she was and he froze. What was Bucky supposed to say to that? Oh, I don’t know. My boyfriend saved her from Russia and dumped her on me. Not a chance.

“Oh, she is 9 months.” He guessed. The cashier let out a small gasp as Sofia laughed. “Well, she is adorable. Have a good day sir.” The girl waved to the baby in his arms as they left.

James ran out of the store and quickly unpacked the thing. Luckily there wasn’t many pieces and it was easy to set up. He sat down on the bench, putting Sofia on his legs as he wrapped the harness around his chest. God, he really hoped no one he knew saw him like this.

An ex-assassin carrying around a baby in a harness? Yeah, that would go over well.

He put Sofia into the thing and made sure she was all hooked in before heading back into the store. Again, easy enough.

It felt weird walking around without his arms wrapped around her. It was also weird walking around with her on his chest like she was. Sofia seemed pretty interested in the thing that was holding her and had grabbed onto it at one point. She also seemed to enjoy the view much better as she was now facing forwards instead of towards Bucky’s chest.

It took him a little while to find Natasha in the store again. She had gotten sick of looking at baby things by herself. Too many people came up to her asking if she was pregnant. Bucky rolled his eyes as he heard that. 

“If only they knew.” He muttered, looking down at the baby on his chest. She was smiling up at Natasha as they walked back to the baby section.

“You are a happy little one, aren’t you?” James asked, ruffling her hair slightly. That earned him a small giggle. A smile spread across his lips.

Okay, he was getting really attached.

As soon as they made it back to the baby section, they both focused on the task at hand as if it was a mission. They grabbed a cart nearby and started filling it up with everything they would need. 

Soon, they had a stack of clothes, a few bibs, a few bottles, a couple pacifiers, a burp rag, a blanket, formula, baby food, a high chair, a crib, a stroller, and a few other things Bucky had wanted to get her. Natasha had suggested that he should get a few toys, just to keep her entertained. He had never heard a better idea.

As they were walking back to the check out area, Bucky got a text from Clint. He got his phone out, quickly reading over the message. 

[text] Bae: Cmng home. How r u nd the baby?

Bucky was going to kill Clint later on for changing his name on his phone. Bae? Really? With a shake of his head, he replied back to the archer. 

[text] Bucky: Out doing a little shopping with her. Realized we needed things. I will be home in a few. We are both good. She is surprisingly adorable.

After he hit send, he started helping Natasha load their stuff up onto the counter. He was going through his checklist in his head to make sure they got everything. They may have ended up getting too much. The guy behind the register smiled and waved at Sofia.

“New parents, huh?” The guy, whose name tag said Dustin, asked as he started ringing them up. Bucky nodded, not daring to say anything. Again, what was he supposed to say to things like that?

“Well you certainly got everything you need. I wish you both good luck.” He said with a chuckle. Hearing that made Bucky feel a little better. So they had everything they would need for her. They weren’t missing anything. He let out a small sigh of relief, pulling his wallet out as well. 

He quickly paid for it, managing to keep his card out of Sofia’s grabbing hands. He cashier waved goodbye to them as they grabbed all their bags. Natasha ended up carrying more of the bags than Bucky. As soon as they got out to the cabinet again, Bucky sent another text to Clint.

[text] Bucky: On our way home. You there yet?

He didn’t receive a message back from Clint the entire way home so he had figured the other had just fallen asleep. 

The ride back to Bucky’s apartment was quiet. Natasha was content to just watching the city pass as they drove from the store. Sofia was more interested in her harness than anything around her. Bucky was slowly falling asleep. It had been a long day, alright?

A sudden jerk of the cab woke him up, his arms immediately going around Sofia. Even though she was in the harness, his first instinct was to protect her. 

That was strange.

He heard the driver apologizing over and over again before he noticed Sofia whimpering. Her bottom lip was sticking out and there were tears starting to form in her eyes. 

“No, no, no. No crying, little one. Come on. Don’t do this to me.” He whispered as he slowly bounced her. Maybe that would help.

When her whimpering didn’t stop, he took her out of her harness and set her on his knees so that she was facing him. The little girl looked up at Bucky, her lip quivering. 

“Hey, look. We are okay. There is nothing to cry about.” What was he supposed to do? It was obvious she didn’t understand him. She was a baby! Bucky kept bouncing her on his legs, trying to calm her down. 

Natasha hadn’t even moved so he was on his own on this one.

Sofia eventually lifted her arms up like she wanted to be held. He was already holding her, in a way, but she must want to be close. He pulled her up, trying to hold her in a way that wasn’t crushing the harness that he still wore on his chest. As soon as she was close enough, Sofia reached out and pulled herself close, burying her face in the other’s neck. 

James froze, looking down at the baby in his arms cautiously. What was she trying to accomplish from this? He saw her gripping his shirt as if hanging onto it. Maybe she was worried they were going to jerk again. 

Seeing her start to cry made him feel strangely protective over her and in his head, he vowed to get out of the cab if the driver hit the brakes like that again.

Why? He didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, quick note. I have written another chapter or so of this story and I will get that up as soon as I write more! Another thing. I was attempting to change my username. Realized that was a shit move and made a pseud account? I put this under that name and I have no idea what that will do? But I realized that my Tumblr wasn't the same as this account anymore and I really wanted them to sync up so we will see what happens! If you guys can give me some pointers that would be amazing!
> 
> As usual, comment and leave kudos! They keep me motivated.


	5. Home Sweet Home

Luckily for the driver, they made it to the apartment buildings with no other problems. It was a smooth ride home as Clint would say.

God damn idiot archer.

Natasha helped Bucky carry the bags up to the house as somewhere along the way, Sofia had fallen asleep. She was comfortable, Bucky couldn’t blame her. He fell asleep doing the exact same thing to Clint on multiple occasions. 

Once everything was up the stairs, Bucky unlocked the door and slowly peeked inside. “Clint?”

No response. Probably didn’t have his hearing aids in.

Bucky carefully shuffled into the apartment, dragging a couple bags in with him. Natasha had left to go back to her own place after everything was by his door. Now he had to push them all inside.

He was hoping Clint would help but he was asleep somewhere, with no aids in. Great.

“Looks like we are doing this ourselves, Sofia.” He murmured to the sleeping baby in his arms.

It didn’t take long before he had kicked all of the bags into the apartment. He didn’t wake Sofia up so that was a bonus as well.

He quickly went over the bags, making sure that they had everything they needed. He had checked at the store, and when they entered the cab, and also when they were bringing stuff up, but he couldn’t be too sure. He wanted to be certain they had everything.

They did. They had everything and more. Maybe he had gone a little crazy… Luckily, it was only SHIELD’s money. Nothing that would hurt them too bad.

As soon as all of the bags were in and checked over, Bucky crashed on the couch. He sat down, pulling Sofia closer to him. She was warm… really warm. It was almost like cuddling with a small, breathing teddy bear. James slowly leaned back onto the couch, resting a hand on Sofia’s back as he lowered. Once his head hit the pillow, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

It was only a short nap as he woke up about an hour later to a horrible noise. It sounded like a camera shutter. No, worse, it sounded like a phone’s fake camera shutter sound. That was always more annoying. The soldier blinked, his eyes opening slowly.

Standing over him, with a shit eating grin on his face was Clint. The archer was snapping a few pictures of him sleeping. Oh, he had warned him about doing that before. Clint knew better.

The archer seemed to realize that the other was awake as he backed up, put his phone in his pocket, and held his hands up. “I have a reason! You were adorable with her on your chest and… I don’t know how much longer I will be able to see that. A picture lasts longer, you said it yourself.”

It took Bucky a second to realize what the other was going on about. He looked down and saw the sleeping baby still on his chest, her breath still even as she slept. 

Even with Clint’s annoying phone and whining, she still slept. She was a heavy sleeper for sure. That was a good thing with those two as her ‘parents’. 

“I set everything up for her… if you wanted to put her down in the crib.” Clint said, slightly softer. He must have realized how loud he was being. 

“Sounds good.” James mumbled as he slowly stood up. He kept both arms around Sofia as he really didn’t want her to fall. Once he had gotten up, Clint led him into the spare room they had. They had been using it to store their weapons but it seemed those had been moved elsewhere.

Now, instead of guns, arrows, and bows, was a room filled with all the baby stuff he had bought. There was a crib in the corner, a changing table on the other side, a shelf that had once held different types of arrows, now filled with the formula, diapers, and bottles. It seemed like they had had this for awhile now.

Clint had set this up in an hour? Damn, he was good.

Instead of asking questions, James went and put Sofia down in the crib. He watched as she adjusted, slowly rolling over to get more comfortable in the new environment. He watched her chest rise and fall as she slept. He watched her face, enjoying the range of emotions she showed. She must be dreaming. He watched her until he was sure he had memorized every feature of her tiny little face.

Clint put a hand on his shoulder a minute later, gesturing to follow him outside the room. James looked down at Sofia once more before following Clint out of the room. 

The archer had plopped down onto the couch, his arms thrown back around the back of it. James quickly made his way to the couch and sat right next to the other. It didn’t take long before Clint had his arms around James and he had leaned in, burying his face in Clint’s neck.

“It has been a long day.” Bucky said softly, letting out a small sigh as he did so. Clint only nodded in agreement.

“Oh, how did your debriefing go?” James asked, looking up at Clint. The archer smiled and shrugged. “Honestly, didn’t pay much attention. They say the exact same thing every time. Managed to escape from medical so that was good.” James smacked the back of his head playfully, a scowl appearing on his lips.

“You avoided medical? Clint!” The archer only laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “I went, but they wanted me to stay there for the night to make sure I was completely fine. I did what I do best and I escaped. They can’t keep me there. Not when I have you and her to come home to.”

Bucky blinked. It was good that he came home. He was sure that he wouldn’t be able to take care of her all on his own. Hell, he would never have gotten her room set up if Clint hadn’t been here. “Alright, alright… but I am looking you over later before bed.” 

“You can do whatever… but first, we have to talk about her.” Clint tensed up as he spoke. It was obviously something he was worried about. “I know you don’t really want to keep her here. I get it. She is a liability. She is going to make us weak and we are putting her in harm’s way and we aren’t going to be good fathers due to our history, but Bucky… You have to reconsider.”

James frowned, sitting up slightly. “Clint, hey. I want her to stay. I know all of those things but… I don’t know, she is cute. Going shopping with her today was actually kinda fun. I know we are putting her in harm’s way and I know for a fact that I won’t be a good father but if you really want her to stay, she can.”

He had never seen Clint so excited. “We… are you serious?” James nodded, a smile quickly replacing his frown. The archer lurched forward, pulling Bucky into a tight hug. “God, I love you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

“Also…” Clint said, pulling away from the hug. “You are already a great dad. I have never seen you be so gentle with anything before. The way you were holding her and touching her was so sweet. Plus you let her touch you which is a first.” He chuckled. James rolled his eyes. “You are already a great dad so you need to just hush, okay?”

He was never going to stop claiming he was a bad dad because he knew he would be. There was that fear that this child was going to be so messed up because she relied on Bucky so much. He was already messed up and really didn’t want to give that to someone else.

Especially Sofia.

For now, he only nodded along and pulled Clint into a kiss. 

“By the way, what did you name her? Surely you gave her a name.” Clint asked. “If you didn’t give the baby a name, no sex for a week.” 

Bucky scoffed. “Oh, ye of little faith. Of course I named her. It’s only a temporary name though. I didn’t want to make that big of a decision without you. I figured since she was from Russia originally, I would give her a Russian name. Natalia was already taken,” he teased, “so I went with Sofia.”

Clint thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Sofia. I like it. Did she like it?” 

Bucky thought about the first time he had used it and shrugged. She hadn’t been that responsive at all that day. “She hasn’t really been responding to anything I say. I assume so.” Clint frowned, looking over at the door where Sofia was sleeping. 

“She is probably still adjusting.” Clint remarked, shrugging it off. Bucky did the same. Hopefully that was nothing.

They sat there for a moment in complete silence, simply enjoying each other’s company. Bucky was the one who broke the silence.

“You know, I really should check you over.”

Clint groaned, rolling his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this took awhile. I'm sorry guys. I actually kinda fell out of writing for awhile and got a HUGE writers block. I am writing again though so hopefully this will be updated somewhat regularly??
> 
> Keep the comments up you guys, they really keep me motivated. Also, let me know what you want to see out of this work. I have a general idea of where it is going but I would love to know what you guys want me to write.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is a short chapter but I have the next few chapters already written and what not so I will be able to update regularly! Leave a comment!! They always keep me motivated to continue writing. Thank you!


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